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Post by Danielle Thomas on Oct 21, 2008 23:00:16 GMT -5
Danny let her eyes meet Zach's, and she could almost see the miscommunication between them.
As she took the needle out of his arm, she very casually shielding him from Suzie's view, and very quietly asked, "Can you keep her calm?" She was almost mouthing it. "Or are you going to make things worse?"
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Post by Zachary Scotts on Oct 21, 2008 23:12:31 GMT -5
Zachary looked at the young mediwitch, somehow better able to communicate his feelings for Susie to the young stranger than to Susie herself. Glancing at Susie and seeing how nervous she was, he faltered. He wanted to be by her side. He wanted to hold her hand and brush the hair from her forehead and whisper soothing words to her. But somehow, he kept doing everything all wrong. As smooth and romantic as he'd been in California, suddenly now, in this situation that was so rapidly snowballing out of his control, he felt as helpless as a child.
"I'm not sure," he said softly. He closed his eyes a moment, then looked around Danny to where Susie was lying. "Susie? I don't want you to be alone, but... if you don't want me here, I could send in Justin...?" He phrased it as a question, trailing off at the end. He hoped that she would ask him to stay, but he could hardly blame her if she never wanted to see him again.
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Post by Suzette Rousseau on Oct 21, 2008 23:29:17 GMT -5
Suzie was torn. She wanted to be alone, but she knew that she would start crying if she was alone, and she certainly didn't want to do that to the poor mediwitch.
But asking for Justin... she didn't know the kid, though he was hardly a kid... actually, he was probably pretty close to her age.
"I don't know why you're so convinced that I need Justin. He was kind to me, but he helped me find you. That's the point. And he was the first person I told. Stop being angry that he's treating me better than you."
She, like Tanya, wanted him to step up and just be a man about the whole thing.
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Post by Zachary Scotts on Oct 21, 2008 23:38:41 GMT -5
Somehow, that made him feel worse. He heard it as if she was saying that she'd rather be alone than to have him there with her. Why was he doing everything so wrong with her now? "I want to stay with you," he said in a low tone. "But I also want you to be comfortable. This isn't going to be pleasant for you, and I want to make sure you're relaxed. And it just seems like... he's better able to help you relax than I am. But if you'll have me, I want to stay and hold your hand."
It felt almost like he was begging, even though his voice sounded flat and expressionless.
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Post by Suzette Rousseau on Oct 21, 2008 23:54:36 GMT -5
Suzie wished he would have begged. It might have made her receive him better. His flat and emotionless tone made her feel like his words were lies and that he wanted to be anywhere but with her.
Her eyes started to water.
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Post by Danielle Thomas on Oct 21, 2008 23:56:06 GMT -5
Danny saw this and stepped forward.
"Can I have a word with her, alone, please?" She asked. She would take the blame if the woman was afraid to. "I just need a minute, and you can get started on the paperwork that we'll need if you don't mind."
She had a hand on his shoulder and was gently trying to lead him to the door.
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Post by Zachary Scotts on Oct 22, 2008 12:06:48 GMT -5
Zachary hesitated, looking uneasily at Susie. It would have all been so much easier if he could just hold her and kiss her. When it came to emotions, he was not good at expressing his feelings verbally, but when he was kissing her she would have no reason to doubt the depths of his feelings.
Finally, he raised his eyes back to Dr. Thomas and nodded slowly, allowing her to guide him toward the door. "Yes... OK. I'll be right outside, Susie." He looked at the mediwitch with an almost pleading expression. "Please... take care of her. And don't... don't let her leave."
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Post by Danielle Thomas on Oct 22, 2008 13:18:54 GMT -5
Danielle nodded. "She'll be perfectly fine, I promise you. And if she wants it, I'll come back out to get you before the test. But you understand... if she would rather be alone..." She trailed off softly, feeling for Zachary. She could see between them what they obviously were missing, and she felt bad for both of them. But her duties were to keeping her patient safe. They could figure things out for themselves after the fact.
She instructed him where to go to get the paperwork he needed to fill out, and then slowly closed the door.
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Post by Thatcher Scotts on Oct 22, 2008 13:19:24 GMT -5
Thatcher looked up, eyeing his brother as he was sent out of the room. He knew the test could not have been done already, and he knew his brother had really messed things up this time.
"What's going on, Zach?"
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Post by Zachary Scotts on Oct 22, 2008 13:35:59 GMT -5
Zachary stood outside the door for a moment, avoiding all of their eyes. His muscles were tense with anger and frustration. He was angry at her, angry at the situation, and most of all, he was angry at himself. As someone who had relied on his luck and charm all his life, he was now in a situation where both seemed to have abandoned him. And he didn't know how to deal with it.
Glancing around, he looked for something to punch. For a split second, he seriously considered punching Justin, but instead, he hit the hard cinderblock wall with his fist, then let out a harsh cry of pain.
"She hates me, that's what's going on," he bit out, turning to look at Thatcher. "I can't... I can't seem to talk to her anymore, and now that she knows the truth about what I am... She'd actually rather go back to that bastard that stay with me."
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Post by Thatcher Scotts on Oct 22, 2008 13:46:47 GMT -5
Thatcher refrained from rolling his eyes. He was never much good with the lovey dovey emotions, except that when he fell for Alicia, he was very much in love.
"It doesn't matter, however either of you feels," he said, then realized that even though it was true, it wouldn't be what made Zachary feel better. He wasn't sure if Tanya could do it, so he sent his son a look, silently asking Justin to help.
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Post by Zachary Scotts on Oct 22, 2008 14:13:56 GMT -5
Zachary glared at Thatcher. "If the baby is mine and she's forced to marry me.... It means I'm no better than Taylor was. He was forcing her to marry him... either way, she's going to be forced to marry someone against her will. Can you not appreciate how that must feel for her?" He sighed and raked his throbbing hand through his hair. "I don't have a problem marrying her... hell, I want to marry her." He was too angry and frustrated to feel any shock or amazement as he said these words, which should have felt so foreign and strange coming from his mouth. "But most of all, I want her to want to marry me, and not just because of the baby. But I've screwed it up, she can barely even look at me. I shouldn't have told her about what I did."
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Post by Danielle Thomas on Oct 22, 2008 15:05:17 GMT -5
While Thatcher was quiet, unsure of how to make his brother feel better about his problems, time passed and Danielle re-emerged from the room. She had a frown on her face.
"I'll have the results in about an hour, maybe less," she said to the small group there. "I had to sedate her... she's awake, and you can see her, but don't expect much conversation."
As soon as Danielle had gone back into the room, she had asked the woman who she wanted in there with her. If she said Zachary, she would have turned around and brought him back in, but instead of giving any name, she started crying, hard, and wouldn't let Danielle touch her.
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Post by Zachary Scotts on Oct 22, 2008 15:22:01 GMT -5
Zach hadn't finished the paperwork. He hadn't even gone to get it yet. "I wasn't expecting it to be that quick," he said quietly. "I want to sit with her, but I haven't filled out the papers yet. Is she... is she OK?" he asked gently. If he could have shown this much concern while he was in the room with her, she would have known how he felt about her. He rubbed his hand unconsciously, unaware that a nasty bruise was already forming beneath the skin.
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Post by Danielle Thomas on Oct 22, 2008 15:29:26 GMT -5
"It's a very quick process with the right tools," Danielle said. It woul have taken longer, and probably been much worse for the poor woman, had they done it outside of the hospital. "I can get the paperwork to you in there, if you like. You can take your time. She needs to recover from the sedation, and you'll have some time before the results are ready. And yes... she's physically fine. Maybe a little malnurished, but otherwise doing well."
She paused and looked at the rest of the family before she looked back at Zachary. "Are we hoping it's yours or no?"
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Post by Zachary Scotts on Oct 22, 2008 15:48:23 GMT -5
Zachary looked her in the eyes and exhaled quietly. "I'm not sure I'm cut out to be a father," he began. "I'm not used to staying in one place or settling down. I'm not sure she wants me to be the father. And I'm pretty sure she'd be better off without me. But in spite of all that, yes... I think I do want it to be mine. I know I don't want to let her go again."
The genuine, raw emotion in his voice was evident, and in made him feel singularly uncomfortable. He felt... vulnerable. Taking a deep breath, he lifted his chin and tried again to resume his poker face. "Er... yes, if you could bring me the paperwork, that would be fine. I would like to go back in and sit with her."
Dismissing her, he walked past the others and back into the room, where Susie was lying back on the bed, looking very pale. Without a word, he sat back down on the chair and reached for her hand.
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Post by Suzette Rousseau on Oct 22, 2008 16:21:26 GMT -5
She didn't fight him or pull her hand away. Her movements were slow, even when she turned her head towards him or even blinked.
She guess she needed him after all, but she'd never admit it. She wasn't sure what to say to him, but she knew she wanted to say something.
"I don't know what to do anymore, Zach," she whispered.
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Post by Zachary Scotts on Oct 22, 2008 21:12:10 GMT -5
Zachary felt an unfamiliar ache in his heart at her words. She was in pain, pain that he had caused and was somehow powerless to fix. He'd broken many hearts in his time; more than his fair share, actually. It had never bothered him before. But Susie was the first one to actually break his heart, and it wasn't until it was broken that he'd even realized that it actually existed.
"I wish I knew what to tell you," he whispered back. "But please... try not to worry right now, OK? It isn't good for you or for the baby."
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Post by Suzette Rousseau on Oct 22, 2008 21:21:59 GMT -5
Suzie wanted to scream at him for that, but she simply didn't have the energy.
"I wish everyone would let me worry about my baby and stop telling me what's good for the both of us."
She unconsciously squeezed his hand when the doctor came in and set a clipboard next to Zach, and left again quietly.
"I'm sorry for scaring you like this. I should have done the test first and then found you if I had to, but I didn't want Taylor to know." But since he already knew about their affair, she supposed it didn't even matter anymore.
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Post by Zachary Scotts on Oct 22, 2008 21:40:40 GMT -5
Zachary picked up the clipboard, but didn't take his eyes off of her. "I'm... glad you came," he confessed. Sure, it had made a royal mess of things, and the situation was now hopelessly out of control. But there was one thing he couldn't deny. He'd missed her like hell. "You shouldn't have to deal with this alone. And you're not alone, Susie. I... I know I left you at the worst possible time, and I haven't exactly proven myself to be very reliable. But I'm here. We'll figure this out."
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